St. Rita grad Tony Hicks moves on from Penn, will play at Louisville

St. Rita graduate Tony Hicks, left, is sitting out his senior season at Penn and will play for Louisville next season as a graduate transfer. (Warren Skalski / Daily Southtown)

Tony Hicks was more than excited when it was announced in March 2015 that Steve Donahue was the new men's basketball coach at Penn.

"I was ecstatic," said Hicks, a senior at Penn. "I felt like the new offense was going to be great. We'd score a lot of points. I couldn't wait to start my senior season."

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Hicks thrived the previous three seasons at Penn playing for coach Jerome Allen, who was let go. A 6-foot-2 guard, Hicks averaged at least 10 points each season and reached the 1,000-point plateau for his career last season, when he led the team in scoring with a 13.2 average.

He also was twice voted team captain.

In late October, however, just a few weeks before the Quakers' season opener Nov. 13, Donahue requested a meeting with Hicks.

"Coach told me my playing style didn't fit into his system and he didn't think I could fit into his system," said Hicks, a 2012 St. Rita graduate. "I was in complete shock. He never told me once in practice that I took a bad shot or anything like that.

"I respect him for being upfront and honest with me. But I knew once he told me that, I had to make a decision."

Hicks' decision was whether to accept a highly reduced role or turn in his uniform. He chose the latter option. He stayed at Penn and will graduate in May with a degree in sociology. By not playing, he has a year of eligibility remaining.

You're probably wondering what good is a year of eligibility after you graduate.

Well, Hicks could follow the trend other college athletes have pursued and become a graduate transfer, which is precisely what he has done.

So what is it about Penn's new system that made Donahue believe Hicks was a square peg in a round hole?

"For Tony, it's probably a little more difficult just because he's been a guy who's been relied on to score so much," Donahue told The Daily Pennsylvanian. "And this offense isn't necessarily going to ask him to take the ball and create plays for himself and others.

"We're going to do it collectively. Assists are going to be shared. It's just a different way to play. I think he (was) committed to getting better. No one works harder, on and off the court. We wish him well."

I get it. A new coach wants to give playing time to his recruits and players he's comfortable with. But how do you basically reject a player like Hicks, who started 64 games in three years — the most of any Penn player during that span?

How does a young man possess the skills to receive a scholarship to Louisville, one of the nation's top college programs, and play for Rick Pitino, one of the most successful coaches in college basketball history, and yet lack the ability to conform to a new system at Penn?

Hicks' situation isn't unprecedented. In fact, Louisville's leading scorer this year, Damian Lee, is a graduate transfer. Lee spent three years at Drexel, a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, before landing at Louisville.

It's a long way from the Ivy League, but Hicks is ready for the challenge the Atlantic Coast Conference will provide.